


Final Fantasy X-3: Awakening

by FFFFREAK



Category: Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2
Genre: Continuation, Final Fantasy - Freeform, Final Fantasy X-3, Gen, Square Enix - Freeform, WTF, and that audio drama, coz I heard about that hideous novella, final fantasy x - Freeform, justice for our characters, like seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-12-02 12:31:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11509494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FFFFREAK/pseuds/FFFFREAK
Summary: Set 17 years after the FFX-2 Perfect Ending, X-3 focuses on Rowne, a half Al-Bhed girl who has a strange, dangerous affinity with Pyreflies in a Post-Summoner, Post-Sin Age, and Jett, a young man who inherited the duty of guarding peace and stability in a world where most of its citizens are reeling from the trauma of Sin's destruction and Yevon's deviousness. Together with their comrades, the two vowed to protect the Eternal Calm from an enemy that wants more than mindless destruction.





	Final Fantasy X-3: Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> FFX is one of my favorite FFs all time and the mythos surrounding Spira appeals to me so much (though the whole Dream and Fayth is mind-numbingly complicated to understand sometimes) And yes, I heard about the audio drama which I will be blatantly disregarding because you already know why :p
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoy!

**Chapter I**

 

_**Rowne** _

 

There’s always something about the Spring that makes me feel sad and at peace at the same time. 

 

The forest is dying, had been for quite some time now. Yet the magical, almost ethereal beauty of the place never failed to draw travelers, like me, in. Despite the deadly fiends roaming around, seething with hatred over the living, people seemed to seek the tranquil peace the forest offers to its weary visitors. 

 

While the Farplane provides a bittersweet, brief reunion with the departed, the Spring gives sweet solace to the people still living. A sanctuary for those who choose to suffer alone with their misery. 

 

I shake myself off the lonesome thoughts, standing up from the rock I’ve been warming on for several minutes now. The Hyphellos are still having a lot of trouble pushing the stuck wheel of their caravan from the mud from last night’s storm and now some of the able-bodied men are using a thick rope tied on a tree to free it out. 

 

Sighing,I walked over to then, pulling my chain sickle free from my right arm. This baby, my machina weapon, often baffles adults around me and I can understand why. Just imagine a petite girl with cropped blonde hair and heart-shaped face running around with a wicked-looking sickle swaying on her hips. It makes sense why I get a lot of head shaking and eye rolling, probably wishing what on Spira my parents did that I turned out this way. 

 

“You guys need some help?” I offered, gesturing at the rope. People mostly have this reaction around me maybe because I’m a girl or an Al Bhed, or maybe both. 

 

“You sure?” I persisted, allowing the slightest bit of taunting in my voice. 

 

“Just watch out if there are fiends around,” the tallest among them dismissed me with a wave of his hand. 

 

“The longer we stay here, the bigger the chances we’re gonna be attacked by one,” I insisted. 

 

“But isn’t taking care of them your job?” The man retorted. “So beat it, girl. We don’t want that nasty piece of junk around us malfunctioning and blowing up in our faces.” 

 

I clicked my tongue in irritation. “Hey, this “nasty piece of junk” just saved your asses earlier from a Chimera that’s gone berserk, buster.” 

 

Seventeen years since Sin is destroyed and people are still clinging on that belief that the machinas are inherently evil. Still, I remember mom would always tell me, no one can rule out the possibility of people using machinas for destructive, selfish reasons. The old Order of Yevon had lost its power over the people and it’s nothing more but a small circle of ultra-conservatives in the aristocratic neighborhood in Bevelle the rest of Spira doesn’t particularly care about. Although the Council has been doing a great job leading Spira so far, its restrictions and laws over machina have been vague and limited at best, leaving people to think that the machinas are still things to be feared over and the Al Bhed cannot be stopped with this. 

 

Like most Al Bhed my age, I took it as a mission to travel across Spira and teach people in using Machinas. Believe it or not, I even came across a few kids who are naturally gifted in tweaking with it, as if they’d been using it throughout their lives. But no matter how I tried to dispel the fear and suspicion of people around Machina, seventeen years isn’t enough to banish a thousand years of stigma and fear. 

 

“Ish everything owkay?” The Hyphello asked me, its bulbous, large eyes blinking slowly that makes me a bit sleepy just by looking at it. 

 

I just nodded, still feeling a bit stung. 

 

“Rowne?” Jett’s voice came out of the static of the radio attached on my left ear. “Come in, Rowne.” 

 

“Yeah, we’re still in the southern section from the Spring,” I reported back, pressing the radio closer. “No fiend activity during the last thirty minutes.” 

 

“Last thirty minutes?” Jett sounded amused. “You guys planning to make it easier for those fiends?” 

 

“It’s not my fault I’m surrounded by idiots wanting themselves to get killed.” I simply ignored the mean looks some of the men threw on my direction. 

 

Jett chuckled a bit before his voice turned serious. “Jurei and I ran across a Komodo at the eastern side. Well, ten Komodos to be exact.” 

 

“Ten?! Are you sure?” 

 

“I haven’t lost faith on my ability to count just yet,” he said defensively but I can still sense the smile in his voice. 

 

“Were you guys hurt?” 

 

“Not by a long shot. Jurei is more shaken than hurt,” he paused. “Just be careful out there, okay? Fiend activity in these areas is getting more dangerous. We’ll clear out the eastern side but you’ll have to handle anything that comes too close yourself.” 

 

I nodded though Jett couldn’t see me. “I will. You guys be careful too.” 

 

Jett didn’t click off the radio yet and the silence prompted me to prod. “Yeah?” Really, despite his bravado, Jett can be a worrywart sometimes. 

 

“I just…” Jett hesitates. “I feel something’s up in the air. Like there’s a crack that’s spreading fast on the ice we’re standing on and we don’t know any better.” 

 

I chuckled a little. “I’ll be really careful if that’s what you want to hear.” 

 

I heard him heave a deep sigh from the other line. “Yeah, see you on the other side,” he replied distractedly before turning the transmitter off. 

 

I chewed her lip, thinking of Jett’s cryptic warning. Knowing his brash, cocky attitude in fighting, it’s rare to see him get worried over fiends. But unfortunately for us, he would always end up right. An unusually powerful Fiend would materialize or droves of fiends would ambush us a few minutes later. Jurei used to call it “Jett’s Fiend Sense”, more accurate than any fiend detector pickets Jurei and she can ever make. 

 

I slowly return to my post, watching the effort of all these men with growing boredom and disdain. They could have saved an awful lot of time if they weren’t being pig-headed as usual. 

 

I sniffed the air derisively and immediately sensed something is wrong. The forest stilled, and my ears pick up the tattletale miniscule cry of the pyreflies. A familiar and just as terrifying sound. 

 

I was about to unbuckle my sickle free when one of the men near the wagon let out a terrified yell. Inaround and freeze for a second. There before them stands an enormous Spectral Guardian, a fiend I’m absolutely sure that can only be found in the harsh mountaintop of Gagazet and the lonely ruins of Zanarkand. 

 

This will be messy, I thought grimly, before plunging to battle. 

 

_**Jett** _

 

There’s something about the Spring that puts Jett in a somber mood. It’s like stepping inside the miserable and decaying remains of Baaj in one of their missions. Just one blow to its columns, one devastating attack of a fiend, the whole place is ready to crumble. With the forest however, it seems to grow more beautiful at each passing day before it finally dies out. 

 

He hated taking an entourage mission through Macalania, but the traders look desperate and he couldn’t stand the doe-eyed look those Hyphellos for him to finally agree. Good thing Rowne is quick to volunteer to lead this mission and have the boys quietly do their job in the background. 

 

“You don’t look so well,” Jurei, his cousin, absently notes even as he tinkers with a small toy Machina while perched on a big rock. They are near the path leading to the Temple and Jett can already feel the merciless, cold biting wind from the spot he’s standing. 

 

“It’’s the fiends,” Jett muttered, looking down at the ground. The ambush of Komodos may have passed but he couldn’t ignore the feeling that it’s just the beginning something waiting to happen. Worse, if his instinct is right.

 

Which is always will. 

 

Jurei removed his goggles from his eyes, dragging it way up to his dirty-blond spiky hair. His green, spiral eyes regarded Jett thoughtfully, which is all the more disconcerting. Jurei is anything but thoughtful and sensitive.

 

“Look, Jett. You can go ahead to the Temple if being here bothers you so much,” Jurei shrugs nonchalantly. “I know you don’t like this place. Too many..unpleasant memories. Rowne and I will catch up ahead.” 

 

“And leave you to the fiends?” Jett shakes his head. “I don’t wanna get an earful from your mother about leaving you here all alone. I’m your Captain. Your safety is my responsibility.” 

 

“Look, you’ve trained us for this. How can you focus on completing your own missions and cleaning up your territory if you cannot trust us to do a job alone?”

 

“I do trust you,” Jett replies, looking around distractedly. “But I also trust my guts and it tells me to stay here, even if I don’t like it.” 

 

Jurei just sighs heavily. “Sure, suit yourself. But how about focusing on other things instead of worrying over enemies we haven’t faced yet.” He flashes a cocky grin. “I mean, ten or fifty Komodos, it doesn’t matter. We can take them on anyhow. We can even take care of Sin itself if it decides to pop in here somewhere.” 

 

Despite everything, Jett lets out a small chuckle. “I’m not worried about us. It's Rowne. I was thinking of sending you to her while I take over the watch here.” 

 

“No way, Jett!’ Jurei frantically shakes his head for good effect. “Rowne will kill me. She can’t have us spying on her to see if she’s good with her job, which she is by the way. So why worry?” 

 

“This is something different,” Jett crosses his arm against his chest, “I’ve...never felt this uneasy since..you know..”

 

At that, Jurei’s face immediately changed into that of sympathy. He put back his goggles to cover his eyes and silently went on fixing his toy machina. 

 

It didn’t take long before the radio in his right shoulder hissed in life and Rowne’s voice disrupted the noise, sounding slightly out of breathe. “Jett? Come in, Jett.” 

 

“Yeah, what’s the trouble?”

 

“Well…” Jett straightened as he detected a distinct roar in the background, followed by what seemed to be a sound of trees crashing to the ground. “We have an unwanted visitor who came all the way from Gagazet. I might need an extra hand to take care of it.” 

 

Jett nods at Jurei who’s instantly on his feet. “Send your location to Jurei. How bad is it?”

 

“Like Spectral Keeper-bad?” 

 

“What?” Jett clutched the lapel close to his mouth. “How did it- Alright, just hold on a bit. Jurei and I will be there in a few.” 

 

“You don’t need to tell me-” she replies before the transmission cuts off. Without saying anything else to Jurei, Jett unsheathes his weapon and launches off to the woods. 

 

It was the sound of fleeing men that alerted Jett to the fiends’ location. It is now obvious for everyone in the forest that a powerful fiend is in rampage and only the most capable fighters can handle it. Following the Calm, however, finding experienced fighters in Spira is as difficult as hunting for rare spheres. People have been so accustomed to peace that learning to defend themselves has become the least of their concerns. 

 

It is for that reason why Jett and his best friend, Vid, formed the Vanguards two years ago. It’s still small, and they depend an awful lot of their own resources to carry out missions and upgrade their weapons but Jett cannot see himself doing otherwise. Though he can’t say the same thing to Vid who is increasingly focusing on his blitzball career lately and has long advised him to leave the team to the new kids to focus on playing the sports. Jett loves blitzball as much as the next kid, but he can’t help thinking that surely, he must have a bigger purpose out there than just playing in the sphere pool. 

 

People used to say he takes that after his mother in that regard. 

 

Jett shakes himself awake from the thought of his mother. He needs to focus right now. A huge fiend in a cramped place like Macalania...many people can get hurt. Rowne can get hurt. 

 

They spotted her right in the heart of the Spring - the lake. In a tactical point of view, it makes sense for Rowne to lure a huge fiend like that in this part of the forest where she can maneuver around it and hit the weak spots. Still, Jett isn’t sure if he can stay in this place any longer than he possibly could. 

 

“Jett,” Jurei’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Let’s go! Rowne’s on the ground.” 

 

That snapped his attention back to the girl who is writhing on the ground, cradling her right arm. The fiend keeps on thrashing in front of her and any second late would mean the possibility of one of its enormous legs crushing into her. Rowne managed to embed her sickle in its throat but it still has the strength to stand. 

 

Jett pushes Rowne away before it charges to her like a bull. Behind a large tree, Jurei is already positioning himself with a wicked-looking Machina bazooka on his left right shoulder. It takes exactly a minute for it to charge, and Jett knew this is where he comes in. 

 

“You okay?” He helps Rowne to sit up, scanning her body for any sign of major injury. But the blonde girl only shake his concern away. To his relief, the worst she sustained is a dislocated arm and a bloody lip. 

 

“I’ve seen better days,” she mutters. “What took you so long?” 

 

Jett didn’t answer, resuming his attention back to the fiend. “Get yourself into cover with Jurei. I’ll take care of this one.” 

 

“You don’t need to tell me,” she stands up and half-jogs towards Jurei who is already loading the bazooka. “Hey, get my sickle for me, will ya? You know I can’t-”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Can’t sleep without it at night. Got it.” 

 

She gives him a weak thumbs-up before heading to Jurei. In between blows, Jett keeps an eye on her progress, praying silently the fiend won’t notice her fleeing. Much to his shock, Rowne stopped on her tracks, as if something froze her on the spot. 

 

“Rowne!” He calls out heatedly. “What on earth are you doing?”

 

But Rowne remained standing, and Jett had no choice but to finish the fiend before it gets to her.

 

~~~~


End file.
